Wednesday, October 29, 2008

baby legs tutorial (make your own leg and arm warmers!)

I am always cold. My husband loves it when I'm pregnant because it's the only time I'm warm and therefore on the same thermostat level as him. I own lots of sweatshirts to put on in my house in the winter because I'm cold even when the heater is on.

That's where BabyLegs come in. I have a pair for myself that I wear, even under long-sleeved shirts and jackets, to keep me warm and toasty. My kids are adorable in them--they love the skulls, flames, and bones on theirs. The Little Birdies have spent plenty of money with that company. (And I'm sure we will continue to do so in the future--they make cute gifts!) However, we wanted to try to make a pair of simple BabyLegs-esque arm and leg warmers to take advantage of all the totally cool knee-high socks out there right now. I love all the funky colors and textures. I've found so many at Target this season that it's been hard to exercise restraint and not buy one of each! So here's a simple tutorial on how to make your own arm or leg warmers for you, your baby, or anyone you think might be cold!Leg and Arm Warmer Tutorial

*1 pair knee or thigh-high socks (knee highs are great for baby and kids, and the thigh-highs are great for adult arm warmers because they reach all the way up to a short sleeve!)

*Rotary cutter or scissors

*Needle and thread

1. Lay your socks flat and cut off the foot, just above the ankle.

2. Turn them inside out and fold over a small hem on the raw edge.

3. Take a needle and matching thread and whip stitch around the hem. Tie a knot, turn right-side out, and you're done! Seriously, I think that's the shortest tutorial we've ever done.

(Oops! Forgot to take a final picture! I'll add it later today. . .)

Here is another tutorial with lots of pictures to make your own BabyLegs with cuffs on both ends. It was too complicated for me, but they may look a little closer to actual BabyLegs.

These are so cute on babies with skirts, or little ones learning to use the potty. But I have to say they are my favorite on ME because they keep me so cozy!

Do these actually stay up on your arms pretty well or will your kids have to keep pulling them up? Just curious if I want to make these for my boy using boy colored socks of course. Or, is this more of a girl thing?

Hi Miranda, my daughter wears these a lot and she said that she sometimes has to pull them up but not all the time. It doesn't seem like she has to constantly pull them up. Her friends asked me to make them a pair so I did and it doesn't seem like they have any problems with it either. Might depend on the kid. I do know that our sons love to wear their babylegs on their arms. Especially the pirate skulls and hot rod flames. This way they can still wear their T-shirts and mom doesn't worry about them freezing in the chilly fall air. I think the key with boys is getting a pattern they would be willing to wear. I haven't made my son any yet. Still on my to do list. I still need to find the right sock pattern for him. As for me, I unfortunately have chubbier arms so I like that the sock gives a little-hee hee. What do you think my talented other little birdies? Agree with me? Stacy

love em!Highlighting you on my blog today... this tutorial.I'm collecting Handmade Christmas ideas...I think this would be a great gift for a teenager to make for her friends! Too cute! Or- mom for daughter... I wouldn't know..I'm a mom of 4 boys.. but I love this project.

These are so cute! I made a pair this morning. I did have a question - are they washable? Mine seemed a bit ravel-prone as soon as I cut the foot part off, and while I whip-stitched them like your tutorial said, I wasn't sure what would happen after a washing. How durable have yours proven to be?

Hi Sarah Marie, some things you can try are to fold the cut edge over twice before stitching. I did that to a pair of my daughter's warmers that seemed to fray/unravel a little more than the others. Or you can serge the edge then fold over and sew. Hope this is helpful!

I made a couple pairs of baby legs - thanks to your inspiration. They are awesome! My daughter loves them and I am looking forward to using them with my son in a couple more months. I did a pair using both tutorials. Once I figured out how to make the kind on the sewing machine, they were easy. Thanks for inspiring me to get the sewing machine out again and create! I'm loving this outlet as a SHM.

thinking of making some when I can get to a store...but about the slipping thing, would it be possible/helpful to add some elastic inside the cuff you make. Measure so you do not make it too tight, but this should help right?

Thanks so much for this, I went crazy making these after I cleared out my sock drawer (why did I think that I would wear rainbow thigh high socks?!). Anyway, my toddler now looks super cute in my cast offs. AND I cheated and just zigzagged, and they held up in the wash fine. Love love love the blog.

ive been looking around at the different things you have made and it made me need tto sew something then i ran across the leg warmers and jumped into my sock drower now jas is wearing a pair now that have little monkeys getting married on the bottom =P

Love these! I'm sharing your tutorial tonight in a blog post about babylegs. Can't believe I never realized how easy they were to make. I shelled out a lot of $ to buy my baby a set of these here in Costa Rica. Only Carters carries them here.